Forecast

Tenn. Ed Department Releases Evaluation Report

The Tennessee Department of Education has released a report to lawmakers that addresses educators' concerns about the way certain test scores are used to evaluate teachers.

The report sent to the General Assembly this week suggests making student test scores a smaller portion of teachers' evaluations if they are unable to obtain specific testing data for their subjects or grades.

The recommendation seeks to address concerns raised repeatedly by teachers since the evaluation measure was first enacted as part of Tennessee's federal Race to the Top grant application in 2010. Tennessee was one of the first two states selected for the grants.

Last month, the State Collaborative on Reforming Education, or SCORE, released its own study recommending that teachers in subjects or grades without specific testing data be allowed to reduce that component to 25 percent of their evaluation.

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